Brief case frame



Oct. 9, 1962 LIFTON 3,057,388

' BRIEF CASE FRAME Filed Sept. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.IO

5 I INVENTOR.

LE W15 LIF TON W BI] I I 20o 7 22 ATTORNEY United States Fatent @fifice 3,057,388 Patented Oct. 9, 1962 3,057,388 BREE CASE FRAME Lewis Lifton, 151 W. 2am St, New York, N.Y. Filed Sept. s, 1958, Set. No. 758,702 13 Claims. (1:1. 15fi1.6)

The present invention relates to a brief case frame which, when opened, will latch itself in open position with the frames widely separated against the tendency of the gussets acting to fold the frames together and prevent collapsing so that the user of the brief case may load or unload the brief case without holding the frames open.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the brief case with the U shaped frame members in closed position.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view with the two frame members removed from the brief case and in fully opened position, upon an enlarge scale as compared to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a separated view of one of the end protectors removed from the frame.

FIG. 4 is a separated view showing the opposite contacting end protector removed from its end of the frame.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 55 of FIG. 3 upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view upon the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 7-7 of FIG. 1 upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 83 of FIG. 2 upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 9-9 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9a is a separated view of an alternative form of end protectors showing the inside face of the female element below and the outside face of the male element above.

FIG. 10 is a separated elevational view of one of the end protectors but removed from the assembly showing the inside face of the male member and the outside face of the female member of the same embodiment as FIG. 9a.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an alternative construction showing an intermediate locking double spring disk before being folded.

FIG. 12 is a transverse sectional view of a hinge construction with the frame being opened and with the elements of FIGS. 9a, 10 and 11 all being in position.

FIG. 13 is a transverse longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 12 showing the frame closed.

FIG. 14 is a transverse longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 12 of an alternativestructure in which the intermediate spring disk is riveted to one side to cause it to move with one of the side frames.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a brief case C having the side walls 9, the end gussets 8, and the top handle 7.

The top of the brief case includes the inverted U shaped outside and inside metal frame members A and B, with the horizontal ridges 10 and 11 and the depending legs 12 and 13 which are joined together by pivotal connections indicated at D, to which the present invention is particularly directed. The ends of the legs 12 and 13 of the frame members receive the protectors or enclosures 14 and 15.

These enclosures include outside walls 16 and 17 and inside contacting walls 18 and 19. The inside contacting walls 18 and 19 are provided with central openings 20 and 21 which receive the pivot connection or bolt 22.

The wall 18 of the member also has two arcuate grooves 23 which terminate short of 180 in extent, with their intermediate spaces receiving the small semi-spherical recesses 24.

The opposite contacting wall 19 has the correspondingly projecting male dimples 25 which ride in the grooves 23 and latch the brief case when lodged in the openings or recesses 24 in the manner indicated in FIG. 2.

The elements 14 and 15 may be formed out of one piece of metal with the walls 18 and 19 pressed out of the same sheet of metal as the opposite walls 16 and 17, with the said walls being held together by means of the tabs or tangs 26.

The opposite walls 16 and 17 have the circular extensions 27 which are provided with the openings 28, which receive the rivets 29, engaging the ends of the legs 12 and 13 of the frame members A and B.

It will be noted that there is leather covering material at 30 and 31 on each side of the metal base member 32 of the U frame A. The same leather covering material is applied at 33 and 34 on each side of the metal frame 35 of the U frame B.

These U frames will be protected at their ends by the enclosures 14 and 15 and at the same time these enclosures 14 and 15 will provide a latch for holding the frames open in the manner shown in FIG. 2. The side walls which connect the front and back plates 16 and 18 of the unit 15 and 17 and 19 of the unit 14 are shown at 36 and 37 in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The fold opening of the Uframes A and B, as shown in FIG. 2, would automatically latch the frames in separated position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8; whereas closure of the frames, as indicated in FIG. 1, will automatically cause the projections 25 to latch into the recesses 24 where the locking function is not required.

It will be noted that the face 18 of the female member 15 is recessed at 38 so that the contact between the faces 18 and 19 will be along the circular ridge 39, with the other contact being at the projections 25 which conform to the cross section of the recesses 24.

This will give stability to the frame in its turning movement.

Referring to FIGS. 9a and 10 (the same functioning elements being referred to by the same numerals which however are primed), the diametrically opposite female elements 24 cooperate with the diametrically opposite male elements 25' and the intermediate channels indicated at 23 in FIG. 3 have been eliminated.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the disks and 112 are provided with the openings 115 to receive the junction rivet or pivot rivet 22 or 22".

When the disk is folded as indicated in FIG. 12, its resiliency will take up play between the elements of FIGS. 9a and 10 and it will also close up the junction.

FIG. 12 shows the frame in open position and FIG. 13 shows the frame in closed position. In FIGS. 12 and 13 similarly functioning parts as in FIGS. 1 to 9 are indicated by the same numerals primed.

In the embodiment of FIG. 14, the double disk resilient member of FIG. 11 has been provided with an extension 110' which receives the rivet 200 to cause it to move with the frame element B". In FIG. 14, similarly functioning parts as in FIGS. 1 to 9 are indicated by the same numerals double primed.

The resilient member 111 of FIG. 14 will close the opening and take up any play between the frame elements A and B.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

l. A brief case frame locking arrangement of the type having two shaped frames pivotally connected at the ends of the legs thereof to carry the sides and ends of the brief case, one of said ends of each pair carrying female locking elements and the other of said ends of each pair carrying male locking elements and a resilient spreader spacer element between said male and female elements.

2. A brief case frame locking arrangement of the type having two shaped frames pivotally connected at the ends of the legs thereof to carry the sides and ends of the brief case, one of said ends of each pair carrying female locking elements and the other of said ends of each pair carrying male locking elements and a spacer element between said male and female elements, said spacer element consisting of a metal plate having means to engage said locking elements.

3. A brief case frame locking arrangement of the type having two shaped frames pivotally connected at the ends of the legs thereof to carry the sides and ends of the brief case, one of said ends of each pair carrying female locking elements and the other of said ends of each pair carrying male locking elements and a spacer element between said male and female elements, said spacer element consisting of a folded resilient plate having corresponding male and female elements to take up any spacing between the male and female elements, said male and female elements of the spacer element cooperating with and conforming to said femaleand male locking elements.

4. A brief case frame locking arrangement of the type having two shapedframes pivotally connected at the ends of the legs thereof to carry the sides and ends of the brief case, one of said ends of each pair carrying female locking elements and the other of said ends of each pair carrying male locking elements and a spacer element between said male and female elements, in which said spacer element is connected to one of said ends so as to move with said ends.

5. In a brief case having companion frame members including covered depending means adapted to utilize a shank constituting fulcrum means, a pair of juxtapositioned hollow protectors for receiving and shielding said covered depending means and comprising spaced outside walls and contiguous facing walls, said walls including aligned openings for also receiving said fulcrum means to allow rotation of said protectors relative to said fulcrum means, and said facing walls including means for disengageably locking said protectors against rotation and spacer means between said facing walls engaging said means.

6. In combination, companion hollow protectors adapted to shield and be secured to corresponding pivoted and covered terminals of complementary expandible or collapsible frames adapted to open or close a brief case, said protectors having facing walls movable relative to each other, and said walls having spaced and cooperative detent means consisting of interlatching recesses on one wall and projections to fit into said recesses on the opposite wall, said detent means serving to disengageably lock said protectors to automatically hold said frames fully open, an intermediate spacer means between said facing walls to cooperate with said detent means.

7. In combination, companion hollow protectors adapted to shield and be secured to corresponding pivoted and covered terminals of complementary expandible or collapsible frames adapted to open or close a brief case, said protectors having facing walls movable relative to each other, and said walls having cooperative detent means consisting of interlatching recesses on one wall and projections to fit into said recesses on the opposite wall, said detent means serving to disengageably lock said protectors to automatically hold said frames fully open, an intermediate spacer means between said facing walls to cooperate with said detent means.

8. In combination, contiguous and hollow protectors adapted to shield and be secured to corresponding pivoted juxtapositioned and covered terminals of complementary expandible or collapsible frames adapted to open or close a brief case, said protectors having facing walls movable relative to each other, and said walls having overhanging complementary detent means consisting of interlatching recesses on one wall and projections to fit into said recesses on the opposite wall, said detent means serving to disengageably lock said protectors to automatically hold said frames either fully open or fully closed, an intermediate spacer means between said facing walls to cooperate with said detent means.

9. A brief case structure having side walls, end and bottom gussets and a top handle and inverted U-shaped outside and inside frame members, hinge connections at the ends of the outside and inside frame members, said connections including hinge pins extending through the ends of the frame members, metal plate face covers on the in side and outside faces of the ends of the inside and outside frame members, take-up means positioned between the inside faces of the ends of the inside and outside frame members to take up any space therebetween and latch means to latch the frame members in open or closed position, said latch means, including cooperating recesses and projections in the inside faces and in said take up means.

10. The structure of claim 9, said take-up means consisting of a double folded metal plate which tends to separate and press outwardly on the inside faces of the ends of the inside and outside frame members.

11. The structure of claim 9, said take-up means being attached to one end member and moving in respect to the other end member.

12. The structure of claim 9, said metal plate face covers consisting of cap members fitting on the ends of said frame members and said cap members having side plates also enclosing the side edges of the ends of the frame members and having outside extensions pinned to the ends of the frame members above said hinge pins.

13. A brief case structure having side walls, end and bottom gussets and a top handle and inverted U-shaped outside and inside frame members, hinge connections at the ends of the outside and inside frame members, said connections including hinge pins extending through the ends of the frame members, metal plate face covers on the inside and outside faces of the ends of the inside and outside frame members, take-up means positioned between the inside faces of the ends of the inside and outside frame members to take up any space therebetween and latch means to latch the frame members in open or closed position, said take-up means and said inside plate face 'covers being provided with interlatching projections and recesses which latch together when the frame members are closed together and when the frame members are moved to a position each away from the closed position with the latching taking place Whenever the axes of the ends of the frame members are parallel or aligned.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,092,200 Ball Apr. 7, 1914 1,636,019 Stuart July 19, 1927 2,804,901 Lifton Sept. 3, 1957 

